Falcons catch Cougs in 11

Boddiger runs down Messinger`s deep shot to seal win over rival

NIWOT -- When Niwot`s Connor Messinger sent a rocket toward the 373-foot sign in right field, Skyline`s Federico Castagnini`s day seemed for naught.

Four hits, three runs scored and four innings of shutout ball was about to go to waste with a dramatic, three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th.

"I got scared," Castagnini said. "I thought it was out or a double. I was so tired. My legs were shaking and everything was blurring."

Castagnini relaxed after David Boddiger caught the deep fly near the fence to preserve the Falcons` 4-2 win over Niwot on Thursday. But while Castagnini felt relief, Messinger was slouched in the home dugout, disappointed.

"I just missed it," he said. "I thought it had a shot."

The only reason the Cougars (12-8, 11-5 Northern Conference) had a shot was due to Messinger.

After Boddiger, who started for Skyline, handcuffed the Cougars for 62/3 innings, the game took a sudden turn when Messinger smacked a two-run homer to left-center field to send the game into extra innings. It spoiled a great outing for Boddiger, who had allowed just one hit and three base runners until the seventh."It was pretty disappointing," Boddiger said. "One missed pitch leads to a tie game."

His counterpart, Ryan Strufing, was nearly as effective but couldn`t contain Castagnini, who had four hits and scored in the first and third innings to stake the Falcons (12-3, 11-3) to their 2-0 lead.

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The Niwot defense, which committed six errors, played a part, too.

"The errors told the story," Niwot coach Craig McBride said.

It was an error on Messinger in the top of the 11th that allowed Skyline to break the stalemate.

With runners on second and third and two out, Niccolo Loardi hit a sharp grounder to Messinger, but he couldn`t gather it in, allowing Colin York to score the go-ahead run.

Boddiger followed with an RBI single to give Castagnini some insurance heading into the bottom of the inning.

The Cougars are done with the regular season and will now wait to see where they get seeded in the state tournament.

The Falcons have games against Roosevelt and Longmont left, and Skyline coach Mike Hoog hopes a couple of more wins will improve their seed.

"It`s playing for a chance to host one of the districts, and it`s a nice thing to be able to do to play the first round of the playoffs in your home ballpark," he said.